| Author(s) | Hamed A. El-Nakhal |
| Affiliation | Department of Environment and Earth Science, The Islamic University of Gaza, P.O. Box 108, Gaza, Palestine E-mail < hnakhal@mail.iugaza.edu > |
| Title | Review of the Stratigraphy of the Outcropping Cretaceous System in the Republic of Yemen |
| Source | Journal of King Saud University. Science. Volume 17, No 2. (2005/1425) |
| Abstract | In Yemen, the outcropping Cretaceous System consists of continental and marine clastics and carbonates which are distributed in three main lithofacies: continental (in the northern provinces), transitional (in the western parts of the southern provinces), and marine (in the eastern parts of the southern provinces). These are included within the Tawilah Formation and Ahwar/Mahra Groups. The occurrence of the Tawilah Formation (Cretaceous-Paleocene) is restricted to the northern provinces. Its lower parts consist of continental (fluvial) sandstones (continental lithofacies) of Cretaceous age which constitute the Zone without diagnostic fossils. Its upper parts consist of alternations of non-marine and fossiliferous marine sandstones of Paleocene age which constitute the Pulsiphonina prima Zone. The subdivision of the Tawilah Formation into the “Ghiras” (= Tawilah s. s) and “Medj-zir” Members was based on the occurrence of marine fossils, therefore, these two members are informal and they were dropped and replaced by the Zone without diagnostic fossils and the Pulsiphonina prima Zone, respectively. The Ahwar/Mahra Groups are well developed in the Western and Eastern regions of the Southern provinces, respectively. They are laterally equivalent, interfinger, and bear fossils of Barremian-Maastrichtian age. The Ahwar Group replaces the names Tawilah and “Ghiras” Groups in the Southern provinces. It consists dominantly of shallow marine clastics (transitional lithofacies) and includes the Qishn (limestone), Harshiyat (sandstone), and Mukalla (sandstone and shale) Formations. The Mahra Group consists dominantly of shallow marine carbonates (marine lithofacies) and includes the Qishn (limestone), Harshiyat (sandstone), Fartaq (limestone and marl), Mukalla (sandstone and shale), and Sharwayn (marl and limestone) formations. Keywords: Stratigraphy, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Yemen, Tawilah, Ahwar, Mahra. |
